N.B. Austin's Blog, page 13

Happy Monday! 07.31.2017

Happy Monday everyone!

Last week I took off as I was on vacation but I’m back this week with another positive news post that brightened my day from Sunny Skyz.

So here’s post #2, a STUNNING Linkin Park Mashup for Chester Bennington.

This was a big one for me, not only because I’ve always been a Linkin Park fan, but because this is also an incredible mashup and I love this kind of creativity.

Chester Bennington is a talent that will never be replaced–much the same as Chris Cornell before him. Both were unrivaled singers and artists in general. Cornell in particular had a voice that I personally don’t think could ever be topped in its originality.

Beyond their musical exploits though, both of these artists unfortunately suffered from something that is so hard for any of us to understand.

That is what makes this video so brilliant in my opinion–the musicians serve as actors as well, in that they effectively portray the emotions of each song in the mashup. It also goes to show the kind of artist Bennington was, as he always created songs that were so true to what he was honestly feeling and he made us feel it too.

For his gifts to the world, so many will always be thankful and may he rest in peace.

“And you’re sure sure, you’ve hurt in a way that no one will ever know. But hold on, the weight of the world will give you the strength to go.”

~Linkin Park, Robot Boy

Thanks for reading! Let me know your thoughts below and hope you’re enjoying the Civilands series!

What If You Succeed?

It’s the weekend and the editing process for book 2 has begun!

[image error]

I’m once again working with Refine Editing and going through the same three-stage process of manuscript assessment, line edit, and copy edit. What’s different this time around though, as I await the delivery of the manuscript assessment, is that I’m feeling the butterflies of anticipation.

The first time I delivered book 1, I felt calm and was fully prepared for the high level review of the assessment to be devastating. Since that was my first book ever, my expectation was that I’d get torn apart and called out as the fraud I was sure I was for trying to randomly take on this author thing . . .

Alright, that might be exaggerated just a bit

Happy Monday! 07.17.2017

My first Happy Monday post!

As mentioned previously, these posts will mostly be selections from the website Sunny Skyz that I found particularly funny, uplifting, interesting, or all of the above. The point is to lift spirits at the beginning of the week and to be a reminder that there is good news in the world despite what’s popularly reported.

So here’s #1, about an ex-con skipping a job interview to jump off his bus and save the victim of a car crash.

Photo source: GoFundMe.com

Basically–and this is the case with most of the headlines–this is pretty self-explanatory, but the man’s name is Aaron Tucker and when nobody else would interrupt their day to help, he did. Not only did this guy pull the injured driver from a burning car, but he also waited with him until ambulances arrived.

Actually, my favorite part of the story isn’t even mentioned in the Sunny Skys article, but in a GoFundMe set up as a fundraiser for Aaron. On the page they mention that the person in the car was bleeding from the head so Aaron literally took the shirt off his back to wrap it.

As it says on the page, getting this man a new shirt alone was reason enough to chip in a little something so, if possible, feel free to join in donating!

Overall it’s so great to see that this man, after having already decided to turn his life around for his son, went above and beyond in proving that he’d make his boy proud. He definitely earned his family a trip to Disneyland to see his son’s favorite character, Mickey Mouse, and his story definitely made my day in the process.

Next Monday I won’t be posting one of these because I’ll already be happy on a cruise ship… kidding (kind of). I just won’t have wi-fi so I won’t be able to, but feel free to share your own article with me while I’m away.

Thanks for reading! Let me know your thoughts below and hope you’re enjoying the Civilands series!

About Happy Monday

Each Monday I will post a link to an article (mostly from my favorite website Sunny Skyz!) that is either uplifting or funny. Each post will include my thoughts on the article as well.

Along with believing in the power of starting my own day off on a positive note, I think these types of stories help get me through some of the “less happy” parts of my own books

Things I’m Struggling With

Over the past year and a half of figuring out what path I want to venture on in life, I’ve come to realize that the grind of achieving your dreams is as difficult as advertised. While this is not a complaint or something I didn’t fully expect, it’s a hard road and sometimes you just gotta vent it out.

So without further adieu, here are the things stressing me out at this point in the mission…

The not-producing-enough paradox

[image error]

Basically, a year ago to the day was when I randomly decided to try and write a book. Now here I sit with one published book, a second written, a TV show pitch written, and the beginning of a screenplay drafted. I’m also in better shape than I was a year ago, have a better diet, am making and keeping more friends, and know I’m on the right path overall.

What I’m coming to find though, is that the more productive I am now becoming, the more I feel guilty for any time I spend not working. I don’t know yet if this is a symptom of still being new to this lifestyle or a just a thing in general, but I’ve used the following to try and ease my anxieties:

Working out – While this is technically still part of working toward something, intense activity always chills me out. Also, there is something about waking up sore that makes you feel like you’ve been productive, even if you took a day off on everything else.
Emotional Freedom Technique – I don’t remember where exactly I was referred to this method but it’s amazing what it can do in terms of bringing your body to a state of relaxation. The technique involves tapping at different parts of your body and as silly as it sounds, the feeling you get if you follow the instructions moves through each part of you. Check it out for yourself here and feel the difference!
Meditation – This is the least effective of the three for me, but if you can effectively shut your mind off then I could definitely see the benefit. The easiest thing about it too is that–for the most part–there doesn’t seem to be a, “right,” way to do it.

The time/fear-to-jump conundrum

“Juggling is hard. Much of the time it is also not wise.”

~Chieftain Orrin in Civilands book 2: Crystal Eyes

A common theme of any experienced reward is that a risk was involved. As a math person by trade though, my mind tends to aim toward taking calculated risks. This is what brings me to the question of when is the right time to just act.

I believe there is a difference between passion and stupidity so right now I’m trying to find a gap–or if I’m wrong and there actually isn’t one at all. All evidence from successful people points to my being wrong and to go all out right this minute. But I just don’t know if I’m ready to topple the house I’ve built just yet while I’m still drawing the blueprints for a new one.

For the time being, I think I’m just going to keep plugging away and grinding until I hit a clear ceiling of some kind. My constant anxiety is wondering when that point is or if I’d even be able to recognize it, but I’m hoping eventually I do because it isn’t easy to jump blindly.

The need-to-fit-in-to-be-accepted fallacy

On average I think I handle this pretty well and don’t worry too much about what others think or do. But most everyone wants to be accepted by their peers in some way, shape, or form.

Some of the things I worry most about in my case are grooming, dressing, and saying the, “right,” thing at times. The issue with these for me is actually that I know the solution: stop giving a fuck. Knowing this solution sometimes leads to the other extreme though, which is worrying that I’m also not caring too much. Certainly enough of a circle to make one feel quite unsure of them self!

So here I think it might be best to find a balance in between, though I’m obviously still working on it. The trick I think needs to be figured out is how to convince your brain to always own whatever it is you want to be and to not compromise based on what you think others want.

The truth of it is that most people live their own lives and aren’t looking to make sure every detail of you is perfect. For those that do judge you, they likely aren’t worth the second thought anyway. If you be you and own that, your confidence will be infectious.

The way I know I should be thinking

[image error]Source: Reddit

Life is really very simple–too much so to take overly seriously. You shouldn’t hold yourself back from the things you want and it’s important to love and accept who you are inside and out.

Which brings me to this guy to the left who you might be wondering about…

Whilst experiencing the anxiety of the not-producing-enough paradox, I came across a Reddit post about this fellow who tried and failed several times to grow a pineapple. The man apparently failed enough times that when he finally succeeded, he took the pineapple to a professional photographer.

In the picture you can see that he was too excited to document this moment to even put on shoes. Beyond the shoes though, the grin on his face is so slight that there is almost a relief in it. Looking at his face you can hear his thoughts screaming with all the rage and fury of success, “Well, gosh darn it, I did it!” I’m almost certain this man has given human life to an actual child, but there is something about the vibrance of green in his pineapple that would help me understand if he were to say that this was his crowning moment. The fulfillment is a sight to behold.

Moving past the tongue-in-cheek though, the simplicity of living for the little victories in life is the lesson here. This kind of happiness and pride should be what we all aspire for in all that we do. For me, receiving my first hard copy of book 1 was one of those moments and times like that make any mental struggles I’m feeling now seem pretty insignificant!

Hope you enjoyed reading and are enjoying the Civilands series

Slowing Your Universe Down

Hello my friends and thanks for being here! Right now I’m feeling pretty overwhelmed. Here’s why:

[image error]Yesterday I finished my first draft of book 2 and sent it off to my editor!

While this sounds like a completion (and I absolutely am thrilled about the achievement!), the writing period for this book was mostly a slow time when it came to everything else. I wasn’t blog posting, I was working out less, I slowed my TV writing progress, and I had a lull in my non-writing work extra-curriculars.

Then there’s also trying to get all of this done while having a full-time job and maintaining a social life–or more precisely, battling myself about the kind of social life I can afford to live while on this journey…

So really this morning, after an attempted day off yesterday to, “just relax,” I woke up and all those other things hit me. It’s Sunday and I took off on everything yesterday so now I have to get this done, and that done, and this done, and that done, and this, and that, and then this, and then that.

[image error]The funny thing is that you’re driving towards a dream you don’t want to sacrifice the pursuit of because you only live one time, yet you also feel the weight of the short-term sacrifices you need to make to get there.

It’s tough to deny that in your mind you need to justify either the first or second choice, even though you would likely be happy with either in the end.

But I think the thing you need to figure out and remind yourself every single day is that it shouldn’t be enough to be satisfied. And personally, I’m trying to do that for myself right now just by writing this post.

So my answer about how to slow down the universe when you’re feeling overwhelmed is actually kind of contradictory:

Tell yourself there’s a reason you’re feeling this way because there is: you want to achieve something better and the process of doing what you’re passionate about floors you
Remind yourself, out loud or on the page, what that something better is and why you can’t compromise it
Make a list of all the things you need to get done today
Speed yourself up and kick your own ass to get them all done!

Sometimes we just need to take a minute or two to hype ourselves up, or to find someone else to help us get hyped up. It kind of reminds me of psychiatrist Wendy Rhoades (Maggie Siff) from the show Billions (definitely worth watching!). In the show it’s her job to remind stressed out stock traders why they’re doing what they’re doing and to get them back in the mindset they need to be in to achieve their best.

If there’s one constant in her sessions, the answer is almost never to give up. Instead, find the confident MF’er inside you who’s stuck in a cage of stress, figure out how they got in there, and then it’ll be easier to find the right key to get them out.

___

This has been almost as much of a rant as a writing update and I’m gonna go with rant because my own head was cleared along the way

Let’s See Where This Goes – Day 1 of Wattpad

[image error]

Before I talk about my next big social media adventure… I’d just like to say that I’ve gotten back into actually sitting down and watching TV shows lately so I plan on posting some of my thoughts on what I’ve seen in the coming days! Fargo definitely hasn’t disappointed this season (Noah Hawley is legend) so I want to talk about that, but also, Better Call Saul FINALLY caught my attention so I need to praise my lord and savior Vince Gilligan for that as well. My thoughts on those to come…

Now to the main event: Wattpad!

I’ve heard many good things lately about this website/app so I decided that I’d give it a try today. For those who don’t know it, Wattpad is basically a place where you can post stories for people to follow along with.

There are so many ways that this website is just too cool so, in the spirit of all online content nowadays, I’ll present those ways to you in a list!

Wattpad allows you to post stories section by section. As an author who likes his share of twists and turns, I think this is awesome. Readers will either be held in suspense, or will get fed up of waiting and get the book right away. This feels a lot like the structure of a TV show to me, in that pieces will be revealed as life goes by and you’ll be almost living alongside the characters!
It’s FREE! Bottom line: everything is better for free. But that really is great for authors like me too, especially on my first book. My only goal with Crimson River is to tell my story and get as many people to read it as possible. With that in mind, the fewer barriers readers have to beginning the adventure, the better.
It’s so social that you can even leave in-line comments.  How cool is it that when you reach the twist you can actually have a discussion with fellow readers about the traumatic experience you’ve just had? Not only that, but this should also help with eliminating spoilers since you’d expect the comments to be made at the point of the action!
Wattpad rewards popular writers.  So today is day 1 obviously for me on the site but my initial research has shown that the company itself has awards for stories and programs for promoting star writers. Overall the most promising thing for me is the idea of my serial story-telling getting noticed, so it’s encouraging that there’s extra incentive to do great work.

Honestly, these are just all the benefits I see initially, but I’m sure there are more to come that I’ll provide updates about. For a company with the goal of becoming the, “YouTube for stories,” though, I’d say that they’re on the right track.

To see how Crimson River unfolds, check out chapter 1, part 1, on Wattpad here!

[image error]

For some additional closing notes: I think I might pop a bottle of champagne for two blog posts in two days!

How to Prioritize – Book 2, Social Branding, and TV Writing

June has been a crazy, busy month so far! What I’ve come to re-learn this month is how important prioritization is, especially when you’re working on multiple things at once. In this post I’ll try to highlight how I prioritize as I discuss what’s been filling up my time. Because in the words of YouTube rap icon Jake Paul, “it’s every day, bro!” …Sorry I had to  -_-

[image error]

Task 1: Finish book 2

Chapter 6 is almost finished and it’s really at the point where even I am wondering how this wild ride will come to its conclusion!

First, to talk about the story a little bit. Book 2 dives much deeper into the who the Keagans are and why the brothers are doing what they’re doing. My opinion about reality is that maybe 2.5% of people are just bad and only do bad, 2.5% are just good and only do good, and 95% mean to do well the majority of the time but make mistakes along the way due to greedy instincts and/or bad influences. You will see this concept a lot more as the characters are developed in book 2. For now, that’s all I can say…

As for the writing, I’ve definitely seen tremendous improvements on all fronts. Not only have I written this book much more efficiently time-wise, but I think the quality is also higher on a pre-editing basis. It’s really been cool to see this development along the way of writing the series.

As of today my expected finish date for draft 1 is June 30 and scheduled release is still November 1!

[image error]Task 2: Social Brand

I originally labeled this section, “marketing,” as I was typing this; however, my friend Malachi Vargas (more to come on him) has taught me not to use this word when referring to the act of connecting with eventual customers. Instead, my current goal is to build a social brand.

The two might not be mutually exclusive, but the key is the way that you think about and approach the process. For me, I dread the idea of being a salesman, I don’t want to think about people enjoying my stories as, “fans,” and don’t like the idea of being pushy about my book. Most of the people I meet daily in regular conversations actually don’t even find out I’m an author unless it naturally (somehow) comes up in a conversation.

This is what makes the concept of building a social brand so enticing to me. It forces me to instead think about the goal as making friends of similar interests who might also like what I have to offer. In the same way that my hobbies/activities come out only naturally in conversation, and usually only once a trusting friendship has been established, the goal should be the same in building a brand. We should focus on giving first, in order to build the trust of an established brand.

So how have I been working to implement this? The key has been to develop a strategy of using only the outlets that allow me to connect with–and stay in touch with–my future, “friends.” So far, this has involved increasing my blog posting frequency, utilizing Goodreads more effectively, and figuring out which other social networks will, and will not, work best for me.

To follow-up on the shout out to my good friend, Malachi Vargas, I’m also very excited to be working with this guy on our first vlog. I should have links to the videos posted here very soon, but for n

ow I’ll say that Malachi has come up with this genius philosophy of creation and brand building in general that you should definitely check out. It personalized branding significantly for me and should for you too!

You can also find more content from Malachi here.

Task 3: TV Writing

As thrilling as it is that I have a published book and another in the works, just learning the TV industry and script writing process has been incredibly exciting. To do this I have heavily utilized Masterclass, a website which contains video courses taught by industry icons about how they got to where they are. Some particularly cool ones on there are acting by Kevin Spacey and comedy by Steven Martin! However, for me to have come to this dream at a time when the ridiculously talented Shonda Rhimes (Gray’s Anatomy, Scandal, etc.) is outlining her TV writing journey online for only $90 is almost too good to be true.

I’ve been progressing through the lessons mostly one at a time, but this week I’m working on completing my story bible (easier with a book already written!) and my pitch document. Feedback on the pitch will be very important along the way so I’ll seek out some helpful eyes once finished. Having it mostly drafted though, writing the pitch document has certainly been–after holding my paperback book–the second craziest, “all too real,” moment I’ve experienced thus far on my journey.

And to think… it’s only just beginning! Next week the script writing begins!

Prioritizing

The bottom line is that it isn’t easy, but there are ways to ensure you meet each of your goals in a timely manner.

Strict hourly planning isn’t the way I go about it. Honestly, the process of making a precise schedule stresses me out more for some reason than the thought that I have a lot to do. Things come up and it’s just too hard a lot of the time to produce hour for hour. Now that’s not to say it wouldn’t work for you, but it just isn’t for me.

Instead, what I like to do is to draft weekly goals. As noted above, my actual weekly goals this week are as follows:

Finish first draft of chapters 6 and 7 of book 2
Finish story bible and pitch document for TV series
Draft detailed marketing plan with specific goals and outlets
At least 3 blog posts this week
Work out at least every other day

This leads to much less daily stress in completing tasks, while also providing enough pressure to reach goals that are challenging, but attainable.

And look at that, I might even get some occasional exercise!

The Adventure Begins… (Pt. 2/2: Editing Crimson River)

Continuing along on my experience creating Crimson River, in this post I’ll discuss the editing process for this book.

[image error]To see more details on this ‘The Adventure Begins…’ post sequence, as well as a summary of my writing process for book 1, please see part 1 here. Otherwise, let’s get right into it!

Editing Crimson River

Of all the steps in the journey of creating my first ever full-length book, editing was the most intimidating for me initially. The guidance from educational resources like The Creative Penn that this would be the greatest investment in the process were certainly right and I was very nervous about finding the right editor for me. My fears were also amplified because I was planning to write a series and wanted the books to be as even (or improving) in quality as possible.

So how did I make sure that I found the right editor to invest in? Here are my 3 tips on how to do just that.

1. Request as many detailed proposals as reasonably possible from editors that fit your genre

The free market is a beautiful thing. While I was able to get an estimate of what prices to expect from my research, there was no better way to understand the full scope of those prices than to see what was included within real quotes.

What I found was a dramatic variance in editing format, cost, professionalism, and engagement. In fact, my final three offers for a book that was about 65,000 words were as follows:

~$1,200 for one comprehensive edit

Edit done by hand
Short, slightly unprofessional proposal
Editor showed great interest in project


~$3,500 for editorial review, line edit, and copy edit

Edits done in-line in MS Word
Highly detailed proposal
Editor showed great interest in project


~$5,000 for comprehensive edit

Edit done in-line in MS Word
Highly detailed proposal
Editor showed low-moderate interest in project

[image error]As you can see, significant variance and a tough choice for a first-timer. However, I cannot imagine making this decision without seeing this range of options.

The website I ultimately came upon to ensure I would have these comparison points is Reedsy. Reedsy is a marketplace where authors can request proposals from multiple editors, designers, marketers, etc. This site was extremely valuable for me during my first experience in both editing and designing (more on designing in a future post!). One thing to keep in mind for U.S. authors would be that using Reedsy requires a VAT tax for fees.

Lastly, be sure to request a sample edit from the prospective editors if possible and to only request quotes from authors with experience in your genre. If a catalog of their prior work is not readily available, request it!

2. Don’t overpay, but focus more on finding a talented editor that is highly engaged in your work

My sole objective for the editing process was to find someone who would edit my work into its best possible self. Though I took a few English grammar and literature courses in college, I knew I couldn’t do that alone once the story was written. However, I also knew I needed to learn along the way, since this would certainly not be my last book.

With that in mind, to get the most bang for my buck I would need an editor who was:

Engaged in my work enough to improve it as if it was his/her own
Highly professional and provided a process I could learn from , rather than just providing changes to make

3. Be honest with yourself

This is probably the most consensus opinion on finding the right editor but it’s also true: be honest with yourself by picking the person who will be the most honest with you.

While it is important that your editor enjoy your work, it is even more important that they seek to improve it with honesty above all else. The issues that might exist need to be addressed at all costs, even if it means a full re-work. Pointing those things out is part of the editor earning what they’re paid.

Editing Crimson River Summary

To conclude this post, keep in mind the three points I mentioned above in order to find the right editor.

While I didn’t dive too deep into the actual process of editing in this post, I’ll be sure to do more of that in future posts about book 2. Luckily, I’ll be moving forward with the same editor for the second installment as the first, so the process should be similar to summarize.

If there are any further questions though, feel free to reach out either here or on social media!

Lastly, I just have to acknowledge and publicly endorse the editor I did end up selecting, Katrina Diaz-Arnold of Refine Editing! Katrina was a pleasure to work with and obviously ticked all the boxes mentioned above. I’m so grateful for the work she did on Crimson River and would highly recommend her for authors in this genre or who have a strong female lead in particular!

Thanks so much for reading and, as always, hope you’re enjoying Crimson River.

 

 

The Adventure Begins… (Pt. 2/4: Editing Crimson River)

Continuing along on my experience creating Crimson River, in this post I’ll discuss the editing process for this book.

[image error]To see more details on this ‘The Adventure Begins…’ post sequence, as well as a summary of my writing process for book 1, please see part 1 here. Otherwise, let’s get right into it!

Editing Crimson River

Of all the steps in the journey of creating my first ever full-length book, editing was the most intimidating for me initially. The guidance from educational resources like The Creative Penn that this would be the greatest investment in the process were certainly right and I was very nervous about finding the right editor for me. My fears were also amplified because I was planning to write a series and wanted the books to be as even (or improving) in quality as possible.

So how did I make sure that I found the right editor to invest in? Here are my 3 tips on how to do just that.

1. Request as many detailed proposals as reasonably possible from editors that fit your genre

The free market is a beautiful thing. While I was able to get an estimate of what prices to expect from my research, there was no better way to understand the full scope of those prices than to see what was included within real quotes.

What I found was a dramatic variance in editing format, cost, professionalism, and engagement. In fact, my final three offers for a book that was about 65,000 words were as follows:

~$1,200 for one comprehensive edit

Edit done by hand
Short, slightly unprofessional proposal
Editor showed great interest in project


~$3,500 for editorial review, line edit, and copy edit

Edits done in-line in MS Word
Highly detailed proposal
Editor showed great interest in project


~$5,000 for comprehensive edit

Edit done in-line in MS Word
Highly detailed proposal
Editor showed low-moderate interest in project

[image error]As you can see, significant variance and a tough choice for a first-timer. However, I cannot imagine making this decision without seeing this range of options.

The website I ultimately came upon to ensure I would have these comparison points is Reedsy. Reedsy is a marketplace where authors can request proposals from multiple editors, designers, marketers, etc. This site was extremely valuable for me during my first experience in both editing and designing (more on designing in a future post!). One thing to keep in mind for U.S. authors would be that using Reedsy requires a VAT tax for fees.

Lastly, be sure to request a sample edit from the prospective editors if possible and to only request quotes from authors with experience in your genre. If a catalog of their prior work is not readily available, request it!

2. Don’t overpay, but focus more on finding a talented editor that is highly engaged in your work

My sole objective for the editing process was to find someone who would edit my work into its best possible self. Though I took a few English grammar and literature courses in college, I knew I couldn’t do that alone once the story was written. However, I also knew I needed to learn along the way, since this would certainly not be my last book.

With that in mind, to get the most bang for my buck I would need an editor who was:

Engaged in my work enough to improve it as if it was his/her own
Highly professional and provided a process I could learn from , rather than just providing changes to make

3. Be honest with yourself

This is probably the most consensus opinion on finding the right editor but it’s also true: be honest with yourself by picking the person who will be the most honest with you.

While it is important that your editor enjoy your work, it is even more important that they seek to improve it with honesty above all else. The issues that might exist need to be addressed at all costs, even if it means a full re-work. Pointing those things out is part of the editor earning what they’re paid.

Editing Crimson River Summary

To conclude this post, keep in mind the three points I mentioned above in order to find the right editor.

While I didn’t dive too deep into the actual process of editing in this post, I’ll be sure to do more of that in future posts about book 2. Luckily, I’ll be moving forward with the same editor for the second installment as the first, so the process should be similar to summarize.

If there are any further questions though, feel free to reach out either here or on social media!

Lastly, I just have to acknowledge and publicly endorse the editor I did end up selecting, Katrina Diaz-Arnold of Refine Editing! Katrina was a pleasure to work with and obviously ticked all the boxes mentioned above. I’m so grateful for the work she did on Crimson River and would highly recommend her for authors in this genre or who have a strong female lead in particular!

Thanks so much for reading and, as always, hope you’re enjoying Crimson River.